Death Comes with a Lion
by MariaPurt
Summary: A what if story. Regina runs away with her soulmate and is about to get her happy ever after. Tinkerbell is happy, but the king isn't. WARNING: dark & violent. Don't forget to comment, pretty please?


_I don't own the characters or the show. It's all written for fun;D And to practice my English, so don't expect much))) But if you like this story and esp. if you DON'T like this, please leave a comment and let me know what I should improve. Like I said, I need all the practical critics I can get – pretty please? Thanks :P_

_P.S. This fiction is inspired by my crossover vid 'When you have me you'll be cursed' (Regina is executed by Henry Tudor there) and the OUAT ep 3.03._

_P.P.S. Before reading it I suggest you watch these vids I made; should give you an idea of what you're getting yourselves into LOL._

_ watch?v=yxi8Qa7elkQ_

_ watch?v=vISnWfuBzB4_

_ watch?v=6DuoIZzH0TU_

The sundown slowly turned into the night, hiding the kingdom in the darkness. The air inside the tower became frosty as if it had been any warmer with the sun shining through a small window. It was the last one, she thought sadly. The woman sat in the middle of a big hall, her head down, her breath shallow, her bare feet freezing. Her fragile posture shivering with silent sobs, hands hidden within the dirty dress that once upon a time looked beautiful and regal. It used to be white, with the mesmerizing ornaments of the precious stones, just as its owner who's sitting on a cold dirty floor of the tower used to be the queen of this castle.

Her long black hair is messy and drained with blood. Her shoulders are high and her spine is straight – more of an attempt to avoid unnecessary pain than the idea of looking royal. She doesn't really care how she looks these days – with all the misery her husband – king Leopold – has put her through it just doesn't matter. For the second time in her life she lost the loved one. Nothing matters… People said he was a good man, a kind man. But sitting here with her back scarred of the countless whips delivered on the central square of the castle Regina couldn't see any kindness in that man.

Of course he was angry at her – she had no doubt he would be. And as much as she had no illusions what would happen if the king ever caught her running away with a lover, she was still shocked at just how brutal he turned. Leopold used to be a loving husband. Sometimes ignorant, sometimes gentle. Sometimes she'd even liked him and then she'd remember what this marriage had cost her, what she'd sacrificed in the name of this kingdom; and it would all come back to haunt her during those long lonely nights when his majesty was having fun with his peasants whom he graciously called friends.

She missed Daniel, dear god she even missed her mother whom Regina hated enough to throw into the wonderland without a second thought. The Dark One though was always there for her, ever since she chose the path he was willing to show her. He was evil. The young broken queen didn't mind. She embraced the blackness as if it was warm and tender. And maybe it was really it: the need to be cared for. Cared about.

And now her dress was covered with her own blood, torn apart like an old rag doll that no one wants to play with, revealing the woman's bruised belly and upper arms. Her wrists were skinned from the ropes they'd tied her to the pole with. _For her punishment_. For the kings _pleasure_. He could've just executed her for adultery as the law suggested, but it wasn't all that easy. It was as if her husband was suddenly possessed.

When they first chained her to a wall and left there for the people to avenge their beloved king's pride, Regina got hit by sticks and stones thrown by the angry crowd. Obviously her mother was right: they never loved her as their queen, she was too weak. But with every next time the guards would leave the unfaithful wife and an unfit queen out for the citizens to punish her, less and less people would be interested. That was also when Regina had stopped asking what happened to the man who was caught with her. He was most probably dead, God, she _hoped_ he was. Their love was short. Their run for freedom was even shorter. Their fate was to taste the happiness…

Eventually people of the kingdom no longer hated her, but pitied. That was when her soon to be widowed husband ordered to give her several dozens of lashes for the whole kingdom to see he'd show no mercy for the cheating woman. She'd screamed, she'd begged for a quick death, and the crowd wouldn't understand such cruelty of the king…

When it was all over, she probably fainted because she didn't remember being carried back to her prison. Regina found herself lying on the floor with a guard standing over her. He was watching.

"I'm sorry you majesty," the man sad softly once he noticed her eyes opening. She struggled to get up only to scream again in agony. "You execution has been announced. The sunrise." He sighed and exited the room. Soon the physician came, an ancient woman whom Regina had never seen before. This wasn't the king's doctor, it wasn't the king wanting to ease Regina's pain. It was probably the guard who felt sorry for a young girl who was about to spend her last night in agony.

And there it was, her last night has just begun. The sun was now gone, and the fresh air caressed the soon to be dead queen's wet cheeks. She was crying, childishly. She _was_ a child when she was forced to marry the king, and she was a child now. The one who never actually lived. The child who'd lost everything without ever having anything. Her love. Her freedom. Her life…

"Regina?" a familiar voice breaks through the silence and echoes in the empty room.

The fallen queen rises her head to face the speaker. There she is slowly flying towards her, this little green… _monster_.

"You!" Regina breathes out, her eyes filling with hate and anger, her lips trembling. "You…" she tries to move and immediately gets reminded of just how damaged her body is. Wincing and biting her lip till the blood colors her pain skin, the former queen falls back onto the floor, but this move is enough for the uninvited guest to see the woman's foot being chained to the floor.

"Oh my god, what happened to you?" the voice says, panic rising with every next word. With this the small flying creature lands onto the floor, hiding her shiny wings and turning into a human, her dress glowing with magic.

TBC


End file.
